Student's won't like it either because longer school days means more stress-related behavioral issues.

As for teachers, I can only speak for how this typically is handled. Usually, a teacher has a period of time each school day for planning. This planning time is critical for grading, paperwork, documentation, phone calls, making copies, ordering supplies, as well as actual lesson planning. To accommodate the need to squish more instruction hours into the student's day, all planning times are diverted to the student-free day. I know that personally, my planning time is absolutely critical to my instruction. Sometimes a lesson has to thrown out due to an emergency (shortened period, technical issue, lack of supplies, illness, etc., etc.). Sometimes things need to be done suddenly in the middle of a day (a behavior referral needs to be written while memory is still fresh, an emergency meeting needs to be held, more supplies are needed, a currently used plan needs tweeking, etc., etc.). Sometimes I just a few minutes to be away from kids and regain my composure. From every teacher I've discussed this with, it is a disastrous plan.

The people voted for the school board but the fact is they have to cut the budget or people have to ante up more funds with a higher property tax or other sorts of taxes. So the issue will parents and others consider a property tax increase for a full school week?

Aaaand, those working parents will have to pony up for day-care for one day a week. Is the cost of 36 day-care sessions (probably at a premium because of sudden demand) going to be less than the property tax increase?

Considering so many people work shifts and (especially in Florida, I reckon) many work night hours regularly in the tourism, hotel and entertainment related economy, couldn't they have cut back to three days a week and set up a system of night classes too?

How much working parents will hate this will depend on how much flexibility there is in their schedules. For example I work in healthcare and work 3, 12hr shifts so I would simply have to make arrangements in my scheduling to have the added day off if my child went to this school. Other options would be parents picking up a weekend shift (if they have family that can watch their child that day), paying for a single day of daycare, or an increase of "latch-key kids", which I was as early as 1st grade.

The article says that 21 other stays are already doing this in some districts which makes me wonder how well it is working in those places.

The teachers don't get a cut in pay they are in school the same number of hours just like any company that goes to a 4 day week. It does save money, we went to this for summer school a few years ago. Summer isn't the same as the regular year I am sure which is why we tried it in the summer. We do get what we need to get done and it is nice having the three day weekend. I am guessing it is harder for the kids to concentrate in extended periods for the high school classes but so is going to a block schedule, which I would hate personally, but this is only extending a class period 12 mins a day not 30.

I know the science classes would take advantage of it with the lab time, math would have a problem not having the soak time you need to get through the class.

Huh.I came from a very very very religiously jewish family. As such, I went to a school called a Yoshiva, which is an all jewish girls school. We actually got out on Fridays around eleven, so we'd have extra time to help our families prepare for sabbath and we made up for it by starting an hour earlier than most schools. I have to say, it worked out pretty well. None of the teachers seemed to mind it either and come Monday we were pretty refreshed. Though granted, compared to a lot of my friends at public school I got a good deal more homework on Friday afternoon even though I could not use that night to get it done. But I'd say it worked out a lot better and when I ended up going to public school I missed getting most of the day on Friday off.

Yoshivas and private schools are not public schools. The comparison is not particularly valid in this case as both types of institutions follow completely different standards of education and curriculum.

This is not a good idea, as teachers will still have to work five days a week (the fifth day is being used for "planning" and the like) so there will be no chance for the teachers to be recharged or given a nice, three day weekend. Almost all of the previous posters have exposed this for the weak and ill-conceived plan that this is.

It has paid off in districts that are spread out over a large amount of territory. The teachers work 10 hour days so they don't come in Friday. I am not saying I would want to teach this way myself. However, as a veteran teacher, it does save districts money and does save jobs.